Canonical reveals Ubuntu for Android

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How it works

When you are using your Android phone that has Ubuntu installed as well, it will behave in exactly the same fashion it does now. You will have access to all the Google applications, the Market, your contacts, and the ability to make calls. So in the morning when you grab your phone to check on the emails and SMS messages that came in overnight, nothing will change there. When you arrive to your office however, your phone can become your desktop. You will simply plug the HDMI-enabled device into its dock, and you have a the full Unity experience on your big screen.

The best part is that you won’t be walled off from the information that you were using when the device was acting like a phone. You have access to all your emails, SMSes, and contacts, as well as the ability to make and receive calls. Additionally, you will be able to do tasks like edit and display pictures, as well as view videos that you have taken with your mobile device.

This is a completely different experience than the closest comparison, Motorola’s Webtop. Your phone is literally your computer, not just acting as a browser that can interact with web applications. I was surprised when I saw the demo — the system was responsive and snappy, and lived up to the hype. However, before you rush to root your Android phone in preparation to install this software package there are some drawbacks.

The first downside is the hardware. Canonical has no plans to manufacture any kind of phone/dock combination made specifically for Ubuntu. For the development of the software the Canonical developers used the Motorola Atrix 2, but moving forward it will only be available straight from the factory — it won’t be able to be installed on existing handsets. Furthermore, Ubuntu on Android is limited to handsets with HDMI out. In addition, the hardware requirements to run this flavor of Ubuntu relegates it to the higher end of the smartphone spectrum. You will need a dual- or quad-core ARM processor with at least 512MB of memory installed. x86 was mentioned as being possible, but for the time being ARM is the focus. Realistically, Ubuntu for Android has been developed for future handsets that are going to have the horsepower to push everything the software is going to require.

The other problem is that while Canonical is pushing the build to hardware manufacturers and mobile carriers, it has no plans to release it to the general public for independent development. This means that you won’t see a CyanogenMod ROM with this functionality built into it. While Ubuntu is open source, Canonical plans to control the release of this version. It’s possible that, given the ingenuity of Android users, one day there will be a leaked build, but such a thing wouldn’t be endorsed by the company.

Those things aside, it’s hard not too like this move by Canonical. When I first heard about Ubuntu on a mobile device I was very skeptical since putting a desktop experience on such a small screen has been tried before and has failed. But the fact that this is going to give me a way to carry around a full-fledged computing experience in my pocket instead of a backpack is a win in my book.

Read more at Ubuntu — and be ready for Mobile World Congress next week, where Ubuntu for Android should be on display

Tagged In

It’s quite disappointing that they are not releasing the source. Is there anything “open source” that is truly open anymore?

Nicholas Schubach

I’d like clarification… PCPro states:
“Silber said Ubuntu for Android would be released under an open source license, but that Canonical expects it to mostly be pre-installed on specific hardware.”http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/373024/canonical-puts-ubuntu-on-android-smartphones

So it would seem to me like there’s a conflict of stories here. Is it open or is it not?

Ray Walters

Nicholas,

In my interview with Silber, I asked her specifically about releasing the software to 3rd party developers like Cyanogenmod to include in builds of Android. Silber replied that while Ubuntu is open-source, the implementation of the platform in this way isn’t. I will certainly forward your question on to them and see if there is some clarification.

Anonymous

Because while the software is open source, the driver is not, almost all third-party driver in an Android phone is closed-source.

Lupius

So basically Ubuntu got downgraded from an OS to a UI shell?

Ray Walters

Hi there,

No, this is a full version of Ubuntu running, not virtualized in anyway. Not a UI shell at all.

Ray Walters

Hi there,

No, this is a full version of Ubuntu running, not virtualized in anyway. Not a UI shell at all.

Anonymous

Why would one want annoying Unity interface in Android?

Ray Walters

It’s not in Android actually, when using the device as a phone there is no hint of Ubuntu. When you dock the device, it will power a full Ubuntu desktop.

Ray Walters

It’s not in Android actually, when using the device as a phone there is no hint of Ubuntu. When you dock the device, it will power a full Ubuntu desktop.

I have now officially dropped my support for anything Canonical. Keeping this “Closed Source-ish” is the opposite of the spirit of Ubuntu and Linux and for that matter to a point Android as well. This move is done purely for profit not for the community. Thus ends the era of free Ubuntu.

Fadzlan

Controlling the release of an open source software is not new. Its being done by the host OS as well, Android.

From what I understand, the source will be released, when the binary does. Hence, community can fix add and do anything they want with the released version, but they won’t have the access to the pre-released version.

If you talk about GPL, yes, you are required to release the source with the binary, but there is nothing stopping you from holding the release of the source of something that you have not released yet.

Any SEO

And then can we get the HMD market to catch up so we can finally sit comfortably at any angle and work? I should be able to code while laying back in my lounge chair beside my pool, simultaneously working on my tan… with my wireless HMD sync’d up to my cell phone.

Marc GP

I think it’s really awesome. True convergence, being able to dock at home your phone/tablet and switch to full desktop mode using the rich ecosystem of Ubuntu apps.

Canonical has made a brilliant decision. Unity is still controversial in teh Ubuntu community but most people agree that this Ubuntu for Android is a step forward not only for Ubuntu or Linux but also for mobile and desktop computing because it serves to bridge that gap that is still left a void.

Benjamin Justice

Talk about a low-power business desktop.

Office? its there
Mail? its there

Depending on how its implemented,
it would be BEAUTIFUL, if i could develop in Java.

P.S.

Why do you want the source to a modified Android 2.3?
I see more damage than anything else when I think about what happened with
the original Android 2.3 (Archos Tablets?)

They should at least let those of us with access to the drivers (OG rooted Atrix owners for example) get our hands on that code! All Motorola phones that run webtop already have the partition (/OSH) and drivers in place. In the video they’re clearly using an Atrix2

Anonymous

I think this will fail. First, they mention it’s for devices running android 2.3, when the people that would actually use this would be people already using ICS (I don’t see
the average Android 2.3 users being interested in Ubuntu, they prob don’t even know what Ubuntu is!)

ICS is already very good when connected to a TV/monitor and with mouse/keyboard (even via Bluetooth).

And lastly, don’t you think Google is probably already working on either making ICS even better on the big screen and/or a solution to switch ICS to Chrome when docking the device?

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